Upgrading from Aardvark 5.2.1

[nootkan]

Just read through the user's manual where it states to overwrite the existing files with the exception of the settings_sql.php file. Can I not also delete all the existing files except settings_sql.php and upload new files to achieve the same result without any old file bloat occurring? My server is also set up as dso with apache suEXEC so what files would have to be set at 777 or 666?

 

[Basti]

Hello nootkan, first off if you not already have installed it, pls overwrite the install folder with the attached zip. Lately there has been been quite a few issues on some hosters provider and this update is not yet included in the download you have.

Just read through the user's manual where it states to overwrite the existing files with the exception of the settings_sql.php file. Can I not also delete all the existing files except settings_sql.php

settings_sql.php have not changed, plus you need it so the installer knows there is something to update in your database ( has to make a connection after all )

As for suEXEC, got myself no experience with it, but just visit the install page. It will give you the information you need.
If there is a red mark for anything, for example a message about banner directory not writeable, then go ahead and do a chmod 777 ( also stated there ) on that folder.
If all is green, go ahead and proceed with install

The chmod info on our doc page also became obsolete since a bit. Lately some hoster have integrated some odd security when running suPHP/fastCGI ( not sure if same is with suEXEC ) and you still chmod files ( which isnt needed on these handlers ), they spit out 500 internal server error, telling you chmod is not needed. Before if you chmod or not did not matter on these, dont know why some have changed that, seems odd.

So, if you just follow the green mark on the install page, you should be good to go. Our doc page really needs some love

And dont forget your aardvark database and file backup in case anything goes wrong
If errors show up, please feel to post here

 

[nootkan]

Basti, thanks for your reply. I received an email from Mark asking me to hold off for 24 hrs while he updated the ATS upgrader before I do the upgrade.

 

[Mark]

Hi nootkan, this is the file I was waiting for as referenced in my email, download this zip and follow the steps Basti outlined above.

It goes without saying, but take a backup of your files and database before proceeding.

if you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask

 

[nootkan]

Okay I deleted everything from my topsites folder except for settings_sql.php and uploaded all the files from the zip file replacing the index.php and update.php files with the ones you attached here. I now see this error:

Warning: require_once(../languages/english.php) [function.require-once]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /home/username/public_html/topsites/install/index.php on line 72

Fatal error: require_once() [function.require]: Failed opening required '../languages/english.php' (include_path='.:/usr/lib/php:/usr/local/lib/php') in /home/username/public_html/topsites/install/index.php on line 72

Looking inside the install/index.php file on line 72 I see this:

// The language file
$LNG['charset'] = "utf-8";
require_once("{$CONF['path']}/languages/import/english.php");
require_once("{$CONF['path']}/languages/{$CONF['default_language']}.php");

So I'm not sure why it is looking for languages/english.php instead of languages/import/english.php. Any ideas?

 

[Basti]

require_once("{$CONF['path']}/languages/{$CONF['default_language']}.php");

its from aardvark. In your case its now english.php, but it could be frensh, etc, etc.It isnt really needed anymore, was at a point quite some time ago.
Quick thing for you, copy languages/import/english.php
please to
languages/

After that when install is done, and you visit your admin panel, the first thing, please do the following:
1) hover over the top menu and click manage language
2) on the right click "Import" and select english
That will put all the phrases into the database ( another thing not yet in the aardvark upgrader )

Thanks for your help on this will integrate that tomorrow for the 1.3 release

 

[nootkan]

Not sure what you mean by copy languages/import/english.php as that file already exists with the installation. I tried copying over my backup of english.php into the install directory but when I go to www.mysite.com/topsites I received a settings_sql.php error and I know I have uploaded my backup settings_sql.php file and confirmed it again to be sure.

Warning: require_once(../settings_sql.php) [function.require-once]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /home/username/public_html/topsites/index.php on line 51

Fatal error: require_once() [function.require]: Failed opening required '../settings_sql.php' (include_path='.:/usr/lib/php:/usr/local/lib/php') in /home/username/public_html/topsites/index.php on line 51

I also tried going to www.mysite.com/install and received this error:

This file cannot be accessed directly.

 

[Basti]

Copy, as in copy.
Take languages/import/english.php from the download bundle and upload to languages. That all i mean.

And that error is, you visit main site not install/ folder?
Did you uploaded my zip into topsite root where settings_sql.php is? the zip contents are install/index.php , install/update.php

Looks like it,
You should have replaced the install folder and not upload the intall folder contents to your topsite root


So now to fix your stuff
1) upload index.php from the download bundle to where settings_sql.php is to fix the error you made while uploading.
2) Take my zip from above again. Its content is a folder names "install", you upload the hole folder to where settings_sql.php is. That will automatic place it where it belongs.
OR...take the 2 file and upload them into the "install" folder on ftp.
Both methods do the same thing
3) Take languages/import/english.php from the download bundle and upload to "languages" folder on ftp.

 

[nootkan]

I guess you've misunderstood my steps to upgrading. I'll start over with my explanation.
1. Deleted my topsites directory from my server using ssh.
2. created new topsites directory on my server using ftp.
3. unzipped the visiolist files downloaded from my members area.
4. downloaded the install zip from your post above and replaced the existing install folder from the fresh install package with your new install folder.
5. uploaded everything into my topsites directory on my server using ftp.
6. replaced settings_sql.php with my back up settings_sql.php using ftp.
7. Browsed to www.mywebsite/topsites/install and recieve the language error stated above.

I just finished deleting everything again and started over with the same result. The only other option would be to upload my backup and overwrite the backup files with the new visiolist files which is what I didn't want to do originally because I've had issues in the past doing things this way with most scripts that I install on my server that took longer than one or two days to resolve because of folders/files that are no longer needed.

Hopefully this makes things a little clearer as to what I've done.

Update: Okay I just deleted everything again from my server and uploaded my backup to the server and confirmed that the site was indeed up and running smoothly. Then followed the upgrade instructions and over writing everything except the settings_sql.php file while also replacing the install/index.php and update.php files with the ones you provided and I still get the same errors as stated above.

 

[Basti]

I understood your steps very well

Warning: require_once(../settings_sql.php) [function.require-once]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /home/username/public_html/topsites/index.php on line 51

"require_once(../settings_sql.php)"
- This, is only found like that in the index.php from the install folder.

"No such file or directory in /home/username/public_html/topsites/index.php on line 51"
This, indicates that you are on site.com/index.php and not on the install page site.com/install/
and indeed uploaded my install/index.php to /home/username/public_html/topsites/

This pretty much confirmed things of my last post, and you just had to do the steps i told.

But if you now did all again, we are back to the original solution

Take languages/import/english.php from the download bundle and upload to "languages" folder on ftp.

That alone will fix it.

And just in case, i post this again

After that when install is done, and you visit your admin panel, the first thing, please do the following:
1) hover over the top menu and click manage language
2) on the right click "Import" and select english
That will put all the phrases into the database ( another thing not yet in the aardvark upgrader )

 

[nootkan]

Basti, I'm not trying to be condescending or ungrateful to you, I was just trying to explain my steps properly. If I have offended you then I apologize. As for your solution that states:

Take languages/import/english.php from the download bundle and upload to "languages" folder on ftp.

That directory and files are already on the server as they were uploaded when I uploaded the download bundle but I deleted them and reloaded them again from the downloaded bundle as per your request and still got the same result. Not sure what I'm doing wrong but I have now reloaded my backup and may try again sometime this weekend and if I cannot make it work I suppose I will have to give up on it.

 

[Basti]

No, i dont mean to upload the import directory again.
Take from the download bundle "languages/import/english.php" . The file, not the hole structure, and upload the file, english.php
to /languages on ftp.

So on your ftp you would have this. Where both english.php are identical
languages/english.php
languages/import/english.php

 

[nootkan]

Okay I started over leaving my existing aardvark site on the server and over wrote all files with the upload bundle including your install directory changes and uploaded the english.php file from the upload bundle/import directory into the languages directory. I then went to www.mywebsite.com/install and finally got the visolist upgrade/install page where I made the permission changes recommended via ftp and clicked on the yes tab for upgrading from an older version of aardvark. Everything seemed to go alright and there was a message stating the upgrade was successful about half way down the page. I then went to http://www.mywebsite.com/topsites/index.php?a=admin and got this error:

Warning: require_once(../settings_sql.php) [function.require-once]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /home/username/public_html/topsites/index.php on line 51

Fatal error: require_once() [function.require]: Failed opening required '../settings_sql.php' (include_path='.:/usr/lib/php:/usr/local/lib/php') in /home/username/public_html/topsites/index.php on line 51

I also see this same error when browsing to my www.mywebsite.com/topsites page. So I'm not sure what I've done wrong this time. Maybe there is an issue with my server or something. The only issue that I couldn't resolve was this warning:

CGI PHP NOT detected. You MAY encounter some file ownership problems when editing files uploaded through the admin interface

 

[Basti]

I told you before ( #10 ), the error clearly stated, that your main index.php is the index.php from the install folder.
require_once(../settings_sql.php)
This form of require once is only found like that in that install/index.php . So you at some point in time, like i suspected before, took my zip and uploaded the contents not into install folder but where settings_sql.php is. Overwriting the core index.php

Since you uploaded all fresh once again, i can only suspect that you made the overwrite on your pc where you store VL files.

Download VL again, and take the index.php ( where settings_sql.php is ) and overwrite that on your ftp.

And why you made everything once again, iam really lost All you had to do was my step with the english.php

 

[nootkan]

Okay this time I deleted everything from my server and my local machine and unzipped everything again and uploaded as per your instructions and it worked. So I must have corrupted something on my local machine. I then went to admin/content/manage languages/import languages and clicked the link. The whole process seemed to go well except at the end there was an "error writing english language file" message. I looked over the whole process and didn't see an error anywhere only "Imported!". Is this normal or should I be concerned?

Also should I change the permissions on button_config.php and settings_sql.php back to 644 from 666?

 

[Basti]

Cool, glad it finally works.
You already had the new english.php in language folder, so you can just ignore that one. We only imported now so we have stuff in the database, at the end of that process, normally english.php gets overwritten.
Did you had permission on language folder not set to 777? that might explain the issue. But generally this is no big issue.
Fastcgi, suPHP byebye oh loved one permission errors

Settings_sql you can change back, button_config however get overwitten when save admin settings, so keep it at that.

Some extra stuff i missed answering before

CGI PHP NOT detected. You MAY encounter some file ownership problems when editing files uploaded through the admin interface

This also connected to fastCGI, if you upload files, e.g plugins through admin, the owner of that file is PHP ( "apache", "www" however its called on your system ) and not you.
Now if you attempt to edit the files of that plugin through ftp, you will get a permission error since you ( logged in ftp user ) are not the owner of that file

 

[nootkan]

You already had the new english.php in language folder, so you can just ignore that one. We only imported now so we have stuff in the database, at the end of that process, normally english.php gets overwritten.

Does this mean that I can delete the english.php that I uploaded into the languages directory now and just keep the english.php in the import directory?

This also connected to fastCGI, if you upload files, e.g plugins through admin, the owner of that file is PHP ( "apache", "www" however its called on your system ) and not you.
Now if you attempt to edit the files of that plugin through ftp, you will get a permission error since you ( logged in ftp user ) are not the owner of that file

This I can change in my server using chmod/chown ssh commands.

What about deleting all the files from my previous version that are not needed to run visiolist? Can that be done also or will it break the code? I am concerned with security issues that may occur from the previous version of aardvark files. What are your thoughts?

 

[Basti]

Does this mean that I can delete the english.php that I uploaded into the languages directory now and just keep the english.php in the import directory?

No you need it, you need both files. Just meant that normally when you import that english.php gets created/overwritten with imported stuff.
That not worked for you, can only guess language folder was not chmodded

This I can change in my server using chmod/chown ssh commands.

exactly, good that you know that

What about deleting all the files from my previous version that are not needed to run visiolist? Can that be done also or will it break the code? I am concerned with security issues that may occur from the previous version of aardvark files. What are your thoughts?

Well you had that all deleted already -.- , the steps where all outlines before already, but you loaded your backup instead following it .

To get rid of all old files
1) delete all except settings_sql.php
2) Upload VL except install directory and settings_sql.php
3) upload english.php again to languages/ ( you know the one from import directory )

 

[nootkan]

Well you had that all deleted already -.- , the steps where all outlines before already, but you loaded your backup instead following it .

You're right...my bad. Forgot that I did a fresh install.

I have gone into the buttons setting in my admin and provided the paths to the images that I've created and uploaded to the images directory for the ranking, yet only the default button is showing on my members sites. Do they have to do something on their end to show the ranking buttons?

Update: Okay I see that there are three choices now for button code in the members area so I guess I'll have to try and contact the members to let them know they have to change their button code. I was hoping to avoid this as it's been my experience in the past that few of them ever respond to my emails.

 

[Basti]

Old members, unfortunatly need to update their link code, since button urls now look slightly different, due to multiple button options
e.g button.php?u=username&buttontype=rank ( this is the rank on button image )
button.php?u=username&buttontype=stats ( this is the stats on button image )
button.php?u=username&buttontype=static OR button.php?u=username ( this is the static button image )

If a member does not have "&buttontype=rank" ( or other type ), the static button is shown